


Collucent

by Terminallydepraved



Series: Dakeverse [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anal Fingering, Angst and Porn, Biting, Blood Drinking, Custom Clans - Dakeverse, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Luminary!Nines, M/M, Vampire Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:22:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18684985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terminallydepraved/pseuds/Terminallydepraved
Summary: Guinan caught Nines’s chin between his fingers and leaned in, pausing just a hair’s breadth from his lips. “You missed me, right? You know I missed you.”Really. Nines knew better than to turn away, so he settled on looking at the wall instead of the man in front of him. “Not enough to call, clearly,” he replied, words clipped and curt. His mouth twisted into a frown. “Not enough to stay instead of leave in the first place.”Guinan grimaced as if that actually hurt his feelings. He clutched at his heart with his free hand and looked towards the heavens. “So cold, Nines, so cold. You know it’s nothing personal. It’s just—”This time, Nines did jerk his chin out of Guinan’s hand. He crossed his arms and glowered at his sire. “Just business,” he finished for him.(alternate Luminary!Nines fic featuring his sire, Guinan)





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**Author's Note:**

> the ever lovely chowbot hit me up for more luminary nines-verse and asked me to write the "true end" to go along with the bad end I wrote for last month's patron pick. In my mind, true end means a sort of neutral end, and that's what you'll get with this one. It's angsty as fuck, but I think you guys will see where it's going and what it's implying. If you're curious about anything, check the end notes once you're done for a bit of a write up on this version of the luminary-verse. enjoy!

When Nines heard the door open, he buried his face a little deeper into his pillow. He let out a quiet sigh. He braced himself for what he knew would come—

“Oh, honey, I’m home,” trilled a familiar voice. The door closed and a bag flopped onto the floor. “Where’s my welcome back party?”

Nines rolled his eyes. Guinan always loved to make an entrance, even in a place that certainly wasn’t his home. The bass from the club downstairs beat dully on the edges of perception. Nines closed his eyes and pretended it was a heartbeat. No, not just a heartbeat— the heartbeat of the one he wanted to come through that door most.

Guinan let out a rough sigh and approached the bed despite the lack of response. “Calling it an early night already?” He clicked his tongue and the mattress dipped a little, signalling he’d reached the bed. “That’s not like you at all.”

“What do you want, Guinan?” Nines muttered. He knew too well by now that you couldn’t just _ignore_ Guinan from a room. He’d stay as long as he pleased, speak as much as he pleased, and more than anything he’d expect attention from those he felt were supposed to give it. Normally Nines didn’t mind that. Hadn’t, in fact, for a good long while when they first took up together. His lips curled into a frown as a strong hand settled on his shoulder and rolled him onto his back. Nines opened his eyes. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here without calling first.”

Guinan smiled, crooked and charming. His dirty blond hair was tousled and disheveled, and by the looks of it and his clothes, Nines could tell he’d come straight from the airport to here. “Didn’t think I needed to call my beautiful fledgling before popping in for a visit.” Nines scoffed and Guinan just smiled wider, his dimples stirring more memories than Nines cared to think about right now.

“Well, you do.” Nines lifted himself into a sitting position, letting the sheets pool in his lap like liquid silk. He took in Guinan’s wrinkled button-up and the tie hanging untied and loose beneath his collar. A few of the buttons were undone, somehow making him look like a debauched model more than the inconsiderate slob he really was.

Maybe that was a little harsh. It wasn’t as if Nines were in a mood to be kind right now. He frowned, furrowing his brow. He looked at Guinan critically and asked, “What if I hadn’t been alone? What would you have done then?”

Guinan snorted. He leaned a little closer, ghosting a hand along Nines’s bare arm. “As if you’d ever step out on me. You’re smarter than that. C’mon, doll, stop with the pouting and gimme a kiss.” Guinan caught Nines’s chin between his fingers and leaned in, pausing just a hair’s breadth from his lips. “You missed me, right? You know I missed you.”

Really. Nines knew better than to turn away, so he settled on looking at the wall instead of the man in front of him. “Not enough to call, clearly,” he replied, words clipped and curt. His mouth twisted into a frown. “Not enough to stay instead of leave in the first place.”

Guinan grimaced as if that actually hurt his feelings. He clutched at his heart with his free hand and looked towards the heavens. “So cold, Nines, so cold. You know it’s nothing personal. It’s just—”

This time, Nines did jerk his chin out of Guinan’s hand. He crossed his arms and glowered at his sire. “Just business,” he finished for him. “You used the same excuse last time. And the time before that.” He’d memorized them a while ago. After thirty-odd years of hearing them, he’d be shocked if he couldn’t recite them word for word, wheedling, insincere tone and all.

“I know you don’t like it, but it keeps the lights on, doesn’t it?” Guinan didn’t try to touch his face again. He settled instead on stroking Nines’s shoulder, leaning in to kiss his nape. “Keeps you in your fancy sheets and pretty clothes.” His hands drifted lower, squeezing his hips, then back up to his ribs. “I thought about you in those outfits of yours. Thought about that little black number you used to wear for me. How much I wanted to see you in it again.”

Nines took care not to react at all. “Maybe if you had stayed I would’ve worn it for you,” he said tersely. If he’d called it would’ve been better. He would’ve put _something_ on if he’d know. It was near enough to daybreak that he’d already dressed down for the evening. All he wore were thin sleep pants, his shoulders and chest bare and open for Guinan to touch at his leisure. Nines shivered when his hands wasted no time in doing just that. Guinan rested his palms on Nines’s shoulders and drew them down the slopes of his arms, kneading at his muscles, dipping down to kiss the siremark he’d left in the crook of his neck.

“Y’know,” Guinan whispered, his accent growing thicker as the lust rose to the forefront of his attention, “most sires would be annoyed if they had to seduce their fledgling over and over again every time they left town for a business trip.”

“Then don’t bother with it,” Nines murmured, closing his eyes. He didn’t let himself lean into the ministrations. This was a dance he was more than familiar with, and it wasn’t yet time to give Guinan what he wanted. Nines stayed firm, refusing to look at his sire. “I never asked you to keep trying.”

“You never ask me for anything,” Guinan sighed. His tone held a touch of melancholy about it, weighing down the words as he kissed them into Nines’s skin. “Everyone says I should be grateful you’re so self-sufficient, but I guess I’m old fashioned.” He crawled onto the bed, the mattress dipping as he sidled up behind Nines and pressed his chest to his bare back. “A man needs to feel needed every now and again. You can appreciate that, can’t you, doll?”

Guinan’s scent washed over Nines in a wave, musky and spiced like the cologne he’d worn for the past hundred years. _Good things don’t go out of vogue,_ he’d said one time when Nines had asked after that habit. _If you invest in something worthwhile, you never have to worry about living without it._ Brands came and went, fashions faded, but quality… That was for eternity.

Once upon a time, Nines had fancied himself something worthwhile. Something _quality._

“I suppose I can,” he said softly, wondering if Guinan ever listened to the things he said and wondered the way he did when he looked at the empty half of the bed beside him. When a hand cupped Nines’s chin, he didn’t fight its pull. He turned his head and met his sire’s gaze.

The kiss was electric. It stun Nines’s lips, sparking against his skin. He sucked in an unnecessary breath and struggled not to respond. Guinan closed his eyes and laughed softly, the sensation just a vibration that wrecked Nines a little more. He cupped Nines’s cheek and layered kisses along his mouth and chin and jaw. Nines fisted his hands in the sheets. He needed to stay strong. He couldn’t… He wouldn’t…

“So sweet,” Guinan whispered, taking special care to leave an open-mouth kiss to the imprint of his teeth permanently etched into Nines’s body. His big hand slotted perfectly in the curve of Nines’s waist. “You were always so sweet for me. Do you remember it? That night we first met. I held you close like this,” he said, giving Nines’s hip a squeeze. “Kept the crowds away from you.” His laugh was a rumble more felt than heard. “I couldn’t ply you with drinks fast enough.”

How embarrassing. Still. “I remember.” The words came independently of Nines’s will. Because he did. He remembered how safe he had felt, how happy he had been.

Guinan went on, “Everyone talked about you, y’know? About how you were so standoffish that no one had the balls to come up to you.” Nines swallowed when Guinan lifted his head until they met eyes. His sire leaned in and dragged his hand down, down from Nines’s cheek to curl loosely around his throat. Nines shivered brutally. He ached to lean into Guinan, to beg for another kiss. Only the thought of how long he’d been left this time kept him from giving in, from ruining the game already.

“But you’re not that at all, are you?” Guinan murmured, stroking his thumb along the line of Nines’s jugular. “You’re just shy. My shy little doll. Cool until you’re warmed up.” He pressed down on the vein that no longer pulsed the way it had in life. “Are you warmed up yet, Nines? Or do you need me to try a little harder?”

He should. He should make Guinan beg on his knees for even the chance of sharing his bed again. How long had it been this time? Two weeks? Three? God, it might have been a month. A full month since he’d last heard from him, saw him. Guinan kept touching him like it’d only been a day, like he didn’t care how long he’d left Nines alone.

Of course, Nine hadn’t truly been _alone._ He’d found his own company while his sire left him to his own devices.

Still.

_Still._

Nines arched his back, plastering it to Guinan’s chest. He had a feeling he could bury himself in the arms of a hundred lovers and still ache for the touch of his sire. They hadn’t told him about that when the offer had come his way, how much he’d yearn for the one whose blood ran through his veins. His head found Guinan’s shoulder and he leaned back against it, baring his throat to teeth that found themselves more than at home along his fragile skin. He was bigger than Guinan, as he was with most people, but it’d never been a problem. Guinan was strong, confident. He supported Nines’s weight easily. His hands weren’t shy. They knew exactly where to touch him, how to squeeze and caress.

“Guinan,” he gasped, twisting a little when one of those hands slipped beneath the waistband of his sleep pants. His fangs sunk into his bottom lips when Guinan’s fingers found his cock. Goddamnit, he was already hard.

“Why don’t you lay down for me?” that rough, familiar voice crooned in his ear. “Lay out nice and pretty and show me how much you missed me.” He withdrew his hands from Nines’s clothing, slapping him gently on the thighs. Like a horse eager to sprint, Nines responded at the slightest touch. He tipped forward and rolled onto his back, head at the foot of the bed and caring little for anything but the hands reaching for his waistband and the attention already on him.

How long had it been since he’d felt this much concentrated focus from his sire? As the silk was drawn down his hips, Nines closed his eyes, fluttering on the edge of a memory threatening to overlap with the current moment. Guinan’s scent clouded his senses, taking him back to a time where this was all they ever did with one another. Every night was shared, every kiss as sincere as the blood they exchanged freely. Guinan ran his palms down his thighs, squeezing and fondling like he needed to acquaint himself with his body all over again. Nines shivered pitifully.

The hands retreated then, and Nines looked up and watched Guinan get to work unbuttoning his shirt and pants. Bit by bit, the familiar sight of his chest was revealed to him, strong and toned and graced with a smattering of hair down the line of his sternum. Nines bit down on his lip and watched, blindly batting under the sheets with a hand to find the bottle of lubricant he kept close by for these sorts of activities. He found it by the time Guinan had finished with his shirt, and he dropped it on the bedspread as the expensive linen fluttered into a heap on the floor.

Guinan unzipped his pants and crawled closer. “I’m guessing there’s little chance of you blowing me tonight?”

Nines twisted his lips into a frown and gave him a withering look. He shoved the bottle of lube closer to Guinan.

Sighing, Guinan picked it up and uncapped it, coating his fingers with a rueful smile. “I suppose that’s fair.”

It was more than fair. If Nines had more self-control— No, more self- _respect,_ he’d kick Guinan out and make him spend the night alone. But he didn’t, and he wouldn’t, and they both knew it as Nines spread his thighs wider and gasped at the first teasing, assessing brush of Guinan’s fingers against his entrance. Guinan laid down on his stomach and pressed kisses to his inner thigh. The first finger went in easily— too easily for a supposed month apart.

Shit.

“You’ve been touching yourself while I’ve been gone,” Guinan observed, smirking up at Nines through his parted legs. His fingers were gentle still, not rushing the preparation he would’ve given him anyway. Nines looked away and knotted his hands in the sheets. “You never were good at denying yourself, were you?”

Nines struggled to hide his grimace. He always did this, always made it seem like he knew just how much his absence weighed on Nines while he was away. But he didn't. He pretended to, or maybe he really did believe that the most Nines did was touch himself while he was gone. The club was discreet though. There was no one here to inform Guinan on the myriad lovers Nines took to ease the loneliness. There was no one to tell him about Gavin or the promises they’d whispered to one another in between bouts of love making.  

“Don’t act like you know me.” Nines drew his knees closer to his chest, whimpering when Guinan bit at his inner thigh. He drew an arm over his eyes, knowing it wouldn’t be enough to hide him. “You don’t know a— _fuck,”_ he hissed, arching as Guinan’s fangs sank into his flesh just as his fingers scissored inside him. Nines tossed his head and began to pant. “You ah… You don’t know…”

Guinan slurped loudly, blood trickling down his chin as he pulled away and lifted his head. “Don’t know a thing about you, huh.” He worked his fingers in and out, in and out, licking the blood from his lips. “You always sell me so short when you’re mad at me. I know you a lot better than you think, doll. Like this—” He jabbed his fingers in deep and crooked them, punching a choked groan from Nines before he could swallow it down, “gets you to make such pretty sounds. And this,” he led, running the flat of his tongue along the quivering line of Nines’s bleeding thigh, “gets you so hot you can barely stand it.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he lied. He threw out a hand in search of a stray pillow, dragging it over his face the second he located one. “It doesn’t—”

“It does,” Guinan disagreed, lifting himself up until he was resting on his knees between his spread thighs. He removed his fingers, laughing quietly when Nines couldn’t swallow down his subsequent squeak. “You’ve always been weak to my bite. Sire-fledgling privilege.”

Turning his face away, Nines struggled not to let his embarrassment show. It wasn’t as if Guinan were just that good. It was true enough; a sire’s bite and blood held its own unique power over a fledgling’s pleasure. All relationships like theirs were like that. It wasn’t anything special.

One of these days Nines would get himself to believe that. But tonight, as Guinan lined himself up and rolled the head of his cock against his slick entrance, he knew that day wouldn’t be anytime soon.

The pillow was tugged out of his hands. Nines hissed and shot a glare up at Guinan as he threw the thing across the room and far from reach. “What was that for?” he muttered.

Guinan raised a brow. He leaned down and stole a kiss before Nines could turn away. “Is it too much to ask that you show me your face while we do this?” he wondered. “You have the cutest expressions. It’d be a shame to miss out on them.”

Nines pouted and received another kiss for his troubles. Guinan licked against his lips and Nines reluctantly gave him permission to deepen it, parting his lips for a tongue that traced his teeth with consummate care and attention. Nines’s eyes slowly fell to half-mast. His hands loosened their grip on the sheets. He raised his hips and rocked against Guinan’s slick cock impatiently.

Something brushed his thigh. A hand. Guinan gripped himself by the base and began to push inside. Nines broke the kiss to moan wetly against his sire’s cheek. God, Guinan was big. Big and wet and throbbing as he worked his way deeper—

“Fuck, there we go, now I’m home,” Guinan laughed, rocking his hips forward until he was buried to the hilt. His hands squeezed tightly at Nines’s waist, and if he were still human, there’d be a ring of bruises left to remind him of this moment once it was over. Guinan leaned down and kissed him, fucking into him once, twice, three times before working up to a solid rhythm. The room filled with the sound of flesh striking flesh. Nines closed his eyes and gasped, unable to deny that despite their issues, Guinan was good at this part of their relationship.

Hell, they both were. From the very first time they fell into bed together they’d recognized their compatibility. Even as a human struggling to keep up with inhuman stamina, they had made it work. Guinan knew how to read his body, how to judge his pleasure and build on it until Nines couldn’t think straight. Nines wrapped his thighs around his waist and held him close, using it as leverage to lift himself for every thrust. They worked in perfect rhythm, two bodies made one in every conceivable way.

The room filled with the wet, filthy sounds of their fucking. Nines was content to leave it like that, to _enjoy_ it like that.

Sadly, Guinan didn’t feel the same.

“God, I missed you,” he said, and Nines cracked open an eye, frowning. He didn’t want to hear Guinan right now. He just wanted to close his eyes and savor the sensations even if his head was a mess of conflicting wants and desires. Nines grunted and tried to make it clear he wasn’t interested in hearing more.

Guinan chuckled, thick and guttural. Strong hands roved over Nines’s chest, catching on his nipples and sending notes of pleasure down his spine. Guinan leaned down and dragged his tongue over them, nipping with just the tip of a fang. Wetly, against his skin, he rasped, “This sweet fucking body of yours. It’s all I can think about when I’m gone.”

The pace increased. The bed began to rock into the wall behind the headboard. Nines grabbed Guinan’s shoulders to hold on.

“Do you think about my dick when I’m not here to fuck you?” Guinan asked, for once failing to realize his attempts at dirty talk weren’t hitting home the way he so clearly wanted them to. “When you’re shoving yourself full of your fingers, your toys. God, I bet you do. I think about that in those lonely hotel rooms and I kick myself for not being here to fuck you myself.”

Pain tore at Nines’s chest. He sucked in a breath but it only made it hurt worse. The words on his tongue came regardless of his attempts to hold them at bay. “Then...why...do...you leav— God, Guinan,” he choked, spitting the words in between punishing thrusts. He couldn’t stop shaking. He fought to hide his face in the sheets.

“That’s right, doll, say my name.” A sloppy kiss met his cheek. “Love hearing you say it.”

Nines swallowed a sob and balled his hands into fists on Guinan’s shoulders. “I just… I can’t… I can’t do this—”

Immediately the pace stopped. Warm hands cradled his cheeks. Nines couldn’t open his eyes. He struggled to breathe when he knew he didn’t need to anymore.

“Hey, babe? C’mon, look at me. Nines? Are you alright, Nines?”

God. _Nines._ Guinan never called him that. He cracked a little more around the edges, but forced himself to nod anyway. He was fine. He just… He just needed to breathe. “You can’t… I just…” Nines swallowed hard and opened his eyes. “I’m fine. I’m fine. You don’t have to stop. I want this.” _I want you,_ he cried inside. He’d always wanted Guinan, so why did this hurt so much when he had him?

Shushing him, Guinan whispered, “I know. I know.” He littered Nines’s cheek with kisses, the drag of his stubbled jaw stinging like the tears Nines refused to let fall. “It’s okay if you can’t. I’m here with you, alright? Everything’s fine. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want it.”

Nines shook. He locked his arms around Guinan’s neck and hid his face someplace he couldn’t see. “I want it,” he gasped, dragging Guinan in with his thighs. He bucked, writhed, and the conversation died with the momentary pain. The pace grew harder, but not faster, Guinan’s hesitance and concern taking longer to assuage than Nines wanted. Everything was slow, reduced to a pervasive drag that lit every single nerve on fire. Nines dug his nails into his sire’s shoulders, moaning pitifully.

“You’re okay,” Guinan kept whispering to him. “It’s okay to pretend.”

Nines licked at his lips, opening his eyes. “Pretend… what?”

Guinan cupped his cheek and went a little faster. “That you’re still happy with me,” he said quietly, so quietly that Nines wasn’t sure he really said it at all.

Sometimes he didn’t have to pretend. When Guinan was here, when he was touching him and looking at him and fucking him like he used to… Nines didn’t have to. He could still imagine it was like it had been all those years ago.

_The gala that night had been unbearable. Connor was gone, off with his sire, off living the life he’d always dreamed of having. Nines, left alone, sitting at that far table and ignoring the party around him. He’d hated it. He’d wanted to leave, to go home, to go to the club and drink and fuck his insecurities away._

_He downed another glass of champagne that wasn’t strong enough. Empty glasses were scattered around him, a testament to his despondence. There were eyes on him. Nines slouched in his chair and glowered at the fancy tablecloth. He wasn’t meant for this sort of thing. Everyone knew it. Even Connor._

_“Hello there,” a deep, confident voice announced to the right of him. “Having a good time?”_

_Nines lifted his head but didn’t startle. This wasn’t the first person to come up to him, and he doubted it would be the last. He looked up at the man hovering at his side, dressed in an impeccable tux that shamed him a little when coupled with the dire state of his hair. If Nines had to guess, he’d bet the man was a chronic fiddler, fucking with his hair when he had nothing else in his hands to occupy his attention._

_He had an accent though, something thick like a brogue. It was nice._

_His company though, wasn’t._

_“What do you want?” he grunted. He swirled the dregs of his latest glass and mourned the loss. “If you want to talk business, go find Connor.”_

_The man laughed warmly. He rested his hand on the back of the chair at Nines’s side. “I promise you that I didn’t come here for your brother. Do you mind if I sit?”_

_Nines blinked furiously. “Why?”_

_“Because you’re much too attractive to be sitting here alone,” the man said, holding out a hand. “Why don’t I join you and we be attractive together? I’m Guinan by the way. Guinan McKay.”_

_Lips parting, Nines gaped. He lifted his hand and shook Guinan’s out of reflex, and didn’t argue when the man took that as permission to join him. He pulled out the chair and sat close enough for their knees to brush beneath the table. Guinan rested an elbow on the table and leaned in. Nines… couldn’t look away. He didn’t_ want _to._

_“Not much one for socializing, are you?” Guinan slowly looked around the party, at the watching eyes and whispering mouths lazily hidden behind raised hands._

_“I’m not the social twin,” Nines said automatically._

_It earned him a smile. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the company, hmm? I’ve heard a lot about you, doll.”_

_Nines mouthed the pet name, furrowing his brow. “Do we know each other?”_

_“In a manner of speaking.” He leaned in close and raised his hand. Nines flinched back. The hand paused, and Guinan twisted his lips into an apologetic smile. “I’m your sire,” Guinan said gently. He ran his fingers through Nines’s hair, tucking some behind his ear. “That is, if you’ll have me.”_

The memory dissolved in the sharp, white-hot ache of fangs slicing into his vein. Nines threw back his head, voice torn from him in a sudden cry. He came hard, Guinan’s name on his lips and the warmth of his embrace a brilliant reminder that yes, he was here. He was here, he was holding him, and Nines wasn’t alone.

At least for the moment, he had his sire where he belonged.

He wasn’t sure how long Guinan fed from him. He wasn’t sure at what point he nosed along his cheek and took his turn sinking his teeth into Guinan’s shoulder next. The hot, molten splash of sireblood erased the passage of time, obliterated the pain, the ache, the oppressive misery of his absence. Guinan pulled out but didn’t pull away. He rolled onto his shoulder and Nines moved with him, drinking his fill until his withered veins filled.

“There, there, doll,” Guinan’s soft, guiding voice cooed. He tugged gently at Nines’s hair and removed him from his neck, then tugged him forward to kiss the droplets of blood from his lips and teeth. “That’s better,” he sighed, lips soft, sweet. “Perfect. Just like that. Good boy. That feels better, doesn’t it?”

God. He’d missed that voice, the praise. Nines melted into the kisses. He held tight to Guinan. He shook when Guinan held him back. Guinan’s hand ran up and down the length of his spine, along his thigh in dizzying, soothing paths that felt more reassuring than they should’ve been given his sire’s track record for sticking around. The heat of his hand lingered, making everything feel so much more permanent than it was. The thought was sobering, and Nines turned away from the kiss, desperate not to fall for it once more.

Guinan of course made a questioning sound, nuzzling at Nines’s cheek and throat. “Somethin’ wrong?” he mumbled, voice husky and rasped like malt whiskey. It made Nines want to shiver, to give in. He closed his eyes instead and pulled away from Guinan’s mouth entirely.

There was a pause, and then, “Nines?”

“I want a blood doll,” he finally said, keeping his eyes shut tight.

A warm hand rubbed along the length of his arm. Guinan laughed a little to bely his confusion. “That came out of nowhere. I mean, sure, we can get you one. I can have Kamski find you the best—”

Nines opened his eyes, lifting himself onto his elbows quickly enough to startle Guinan into silence. “No,” he said, shaking his head too for good measure. “I know who I want.”

Furrowing his brow, Guinan kept on smiling. “Alright? I can’t make any promises. You know there are rules about that sort of thing.” He held out his arms, gesturing for Nines to settle down and come back to him. His smile began to wilt when Nines didn’t immediately obey. He leveraged himself onto his elbows. “Nines, it’s late. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

“That depends,” Nines bit. “Are you going to be here tomorrow?”

Guinan’s smile fell completely, replaced with a muted frown. He looked anywhere that wasn’t at Nines. “I’m here for a week,” he said quietly. “There’s time to talk later.”

A huff. “Before you leave me again. Right.” Nines clenched his hands in the sheets hard enough to rip a few of the fibers. He sat up fully and made himself let go. He wrapped his arms around his chest. “Where is it this time? China? France?”

The bed bounced as Guinan flopped bonelessly against the sheets, his sigh punched from his chest in the impact. “Singapore, if you’re really going to act like that. There’s a merger on the table this time. It’s make-or-break. You used to own a company. You understand how it is.”

“Right.” He shifted his knee and watched how the silk caught the light, shimmering like blood. “Make-or-break.” Just like the last one. And the one before that.

Guinan sighed. “You know I hate it when you shut me out.” He raised his hand, settling it on Nines’s knee. “C’mon, Nines. Tell me about this blood doll. Tell me about how mad you are at me. Talk me. Just don’t ignore me like this.”

Nines deflated. He looked at the hand on his knee and slowly covered it with one of his own. Guinan’s hand was strong, weathered. He’d been an industrialist in life, working hard to make it in a country that didn’t think fondly of who he was, where he’d come from. Nines had found his callouses fascinating. On a Luminary the mark of physical labor was almost unheard of. It’d made him seem so unique back then. So down to earth.

“His name is Gavin,” he whispered, fighting to sound impartial, disinclined. “He comes here sometimes.”

Guinan turned his hand and laced his fingers with Nines’s, tugging him until he laid back down. “Does he know what you are?” he asked. He coaxed Nines until his head rested on his chest. He combed through his hair. He pressed kisses to the top of his head.

Nines’s lips trembled. “No.”

“Then I’ll see what I can do, doll.” The fingers paused. “I can… You’re still my doll, aren’t you?”

Nines closed his eyes. He inhaled that familiar, dizzying cologne. He let it out when his lungs tired of the taste.

“Yes, Guinan,” he said.

The body beneath him relaxed. The tender petting resumed. “Good,” Guinan smiled. “I’d hate to have to kill the man who stole you from me.”

Liar. He wouldn’t hate that at all.

But he didn’t say that. He didn’t say any of the things buzzing around in his skull. Instead, Nines let Guinan hold him. For one more night, he told himself.

Just one more night.

**Author's Note:**

> Whelp, you made it! it's a doozy but thems the breaks I guess. I think it's safe to say that almost any story set in this universe is rough on nines until it's not. For this particular scenario, it's pretty tragic. Guinan is not a bad guy and he and Nines are almost insanely compatible aside from the rather monumental issue of Guinan's traveling for business and Nines's almost pathological need to not be left alone/abandoned. It's led to multiple affairs on Nines's side of things (all of which Guinan knows nothing about), and clearly as you just read it's ruining their relationship. 
> 
> I purposefully wrote this fic to mirror a failing marriage because in a sense that's what it really is. They've been together for nearly thirty years and in that time the passion and trust has fizzled into confusion, hurt, loneliness, and guilt on both of their parts. It's because of this guilt that you all can rest assured knowing Guinan will give Nines his blood doll (Gavin), and while unknowingly and foolishly assuming that's all they are to one another, Nines will carry on in his affair until either Guinan finds out or Gavin is turned. Being a blood doll typically means you're on the waitlist to being turned, and while a Luminary would usually only ever turn someone with the proper pedigree, Guinan and Kamski are high ranking enough to pull some strings in that regard, though who can say what the political fall out would be... 
> 
> (or if Gavin even /wants/ to be turned -cue maniacal laughter-)
> 
> But yeah! That's the "true, neutral" end of this universe. If I get motivated, I might do the good end, but all I can imagine that being is a consensual open relationship between Gavin, Nines, and Guinan. Guinan won't let Nines go easily and for all their issues, Nines is in fact quite fond of his sire (when he's there -side eyes Guinan-). I hope it was an enjoyable read! 
> 
> As always, check me out on twitter for more dbh and dakeverse funtimes @tdcloud_writes, and if you're interested in what I get up to when I'm not blatantly writing fanfiction of my book universes, check out my original work online under the name T.D. Cloud. Until next time!


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